To: disabdis Subject: RE: PROTESTING AGAINST THE END OF CAPTIONING Dear Disability Discrimination Act, Here is my opinion on the Cinema Captioning: You're very wrong to let us deaf people down and there are reasons to add to it. So, I'll explain myself. Firstly, how are you going to get customer attraction in? Deafness and hearing impairment means people can't hear anything at all. Therefore, are only able to communicate in AUSLAN, English Sign Language (Australia) or can talk orally but have difficulty to hear. Deaf people have a tendency not to be able to follow the program that is going on in the movie because they have missed out voices that are too soft. Hearing people who arrive late into the movie can understand what's going on because they have heard what it is about. That means you will have selfishly chosen to select those in the mainstream community to watch the movies, not a variety of people. How will deaf people be able to watch a movie with friends? This is discrimination and injustice. Secondly, if the subject gets closed that means people will not be able to make opinions or ideas for the Disability Discrimination Act. This is a bad effect on deaf people, and soon will have nowhere to go to get subtitles or immediately catch up with the essays. Even if the money is tight, it's important to keep the community happy and to support them. I am protesting against subtitles running 3 times a week as this is a very negative effect. What's your choice? Hearing people only community? A variety of people? If you wish to blank us out, we will make our own small community movies, so that people don't get left out of the picture. This will make us exempt from the rest of the community. Deaf people believe it's good to communicate with both the hearing and deaf community. I thought today was a much freer place than back in the 1970s, but I am wrong. Try harder. Thank you. Regards, Sirani McNeill Year 12 student @ MLC 207 Barkers Rd Methodist Ladies College, Kew Australia 3101 VIC From: Julie Postance [mailto:Julie.Postance@deafchildren.org.au] Sent: Mon 7/12/2009 1:19 PM Subject: Important message on captioning - please voice your opinion TODAY This is an important message to all those who believe in the rights of deaf and hard of hearing Australians. The Cinema Industry has applied for an exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to captioning for the next two and a half years. This means that if accepted, deaf and hard of hearing people will lose their right to complain about the lack of captioning at any of the 125 cinemas owned by Village, Hoyts, Reading and Greater Union Cinemas for the next 2.5 years. If accepted, captioning will be offered at 35 cinemas just 3 times a week (which translates to one movie a week, mostly off peak - just 0.3% of the estimated 40,000 films screened by these four major cinemas each week). If you wish to oppose this application email disabdis@humanrights.gov.au TODAY!! (The deadline for opposing the exemption is today!). Please pass the message on to your friends, family and supporters of the rights of deaf and hard of hearing people. Kind regards, Julie ____________________________________________________ Julie Postance Media and Public Relations Deaf Children Australia Tel: + 61 3 9539 5362 Mob: 0400 197 616 Fax: +61 3 9525 2595 TTY: +61 3 9510 7143 Street: 597 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004 Postal: PO Box 6466, St Kilda Road Central, Melbourne, VIC 8008 For over 140 years Deaf Children Australia, has been enriching the lives of deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Visit our website, www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au, for further information. This email, and any attachment, is intended solely for the named addressee and may be subject to legal or other professional privilege. If you have received this email in error, contact the sender immediately and delete all copies from your computer system. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Deaf Children Australia. It is the recipient's responsibility to check this email and any attachments for viruses.